It’s not always easy to tease out who owns the data streaming out of a tractor cab’s GPS or other agricultural technology farm platforms, a legal expert said.
If farmers are concerned about that lack of clear ownership, they’re not necessarily wrong, said Bill Oemichen, a lawyer from Minnesota and a member of the Law Society of Alberta.
Oemichen is also a research fellow with the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan. That pedigree earned him a spot on the speaker schedule during the Promoting Digitalization in Crop and Beef Production conference, on May 29 in Edmonton, hosted by the Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy.
Data ownership is among the thorny questions agriculture is wrestling with as the industry digs deeper digital roots, along with topics like cybersecurity, right to repair and ongoing rural connectivity struggles.
Oemichen, using Bayer Crop Science’s Climate FieldView platform as an example, asked farmers in the room if they read their contracts all the way through before indicating their consent. Few raised their hands.
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